Photos – courtesy of KPIPA ©
The Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism (MCST) and KPIPA hosted a K-Book exhibition and picture book author events in France, aiming to introduce K-Books and establish the foundation of the K-Book Wave in celebration of the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics.
Beginning on June 5th (Wednesday), the exhibition titled “K-Book: The Origin of K-Culture” was organized to present Korean books to French and global audiences in commemoration of the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics. This exhibition features 59 Korean picture books, 38 Korean literary works translated into French, and 13 original Korean web novels that inspired popular webtoons and dramas, totalling 110 diverse Korean books. The exhibition is set up on the third floor of the Korean Cultural Center in France and will continue until August 30th.
From June 11th to June 13th, picture book author workshops were held at various locations across Paris, including bookstores, libraries, the children’s book museum, and schools such as La Maison des Histoires, Bibliothèque Louise Michel, and Gerson. The workshops featured authors such as Oh Se-na, Lee So-young, Kim Sang-keun, and Jung Jin-ho, who interacted with around 500 local children through drawing and crafting activities, eliciting enthusiastic responses from the Parisian audience. One attendee who participated with her 7-year-old child remarked, “It was great to meet various Korean picture book authors in France,” while a representative from Bibliothèque Louise Michel stated, “This Korean picture book author workshop was a meaningful event that French children could fully enjoy.”
On June 14th, about 150 people, including French publishing professionals and aspiring illustrators, attended the “Korea-France Picture Book Author Talk” held at the Bibliothèque Universitaire des Langues et Civilisations (BULAC). Moderated by picture book journalist Choi Hye-jin, the event featured a 3-hour discussion with four Korean picture book authors and two French authors, including Adrien Parlange and Marie Caudry, who shared their thoughts and experiences.
